About Meir Maharam of Lublin

Meir Lublin or Meir ben Gedalia (1558-1616) was a Polish rabbi, Talmudist and Posek ("decisor of Jewish law"). He is well known for his commentary on the Talmud, Meir Einai Chachamim. He is also referred to as Maharam (Hebrew acronym: "Our Teacher, Rabbi Meir").

Maharam was born in Lublin, Poland. He was descended from a family of rabbis, and his father, Gedaliah, was an eminent Talmudist.

His principal teacher was his father-in-law, Isaac ha-Kohen Shapiro, rabbi of Kraków.

Maharam's knowledge of the Talmud and Poskim was such that he was invited to the rabbinate of Kraków in 1587, when he was not yet thirty years old. In 1591 he became rabbi at Lemberg. (In Lemberg he was engaged in a controversy with Rabbi Joshua Falk concerning a bill of divorce.)

In 1613 he became rabbi at Lublin and established a yeshiva. He was well known in the role of Rosh Yeshiva there, owing to his renown as a Talmudic scholar. Many of his students became prominent rabbis or heads of yeshivot; his most famous student is probably Isaiah Horowitz (Shelah HaKodesh).

A daughter of the Maharam was married to Benjamin Beinisch Gelernter, whose parents were Rabbi Zachariah Mendel Gelernter and the daughter of the Maharal of Prague.

Works

* Meir Einei Chachamim is his best known work, a "casuistic commentary" on the Talmud, Rashi, and Tosafot together. It was published by his son Gedaliah and has since been printed in all principal editions of the Talmud under the heading "Maharam." It is considered one of the important commentaries on the Talmud. The commentary, generally, employs short and simple explanations.

After his death, over 140 of the Halachic questions posed to him were published in a collection of responsa entitled Mnahir Einai Chachamim.